An irascible and independent porcupine, Hugh Pine decides to avoid the Great Calamity of being flattened under passing cars by emulating humans and learns to walk upright wearing a red, floppy hat.

Tired of having all the animals around Sorry Bay come to him with their troubles, Hugh Pine, a very clever porcupine, seeks solitude on a small island in the bay populated by a solitary tree

Hugh Pine, a porcupine, takes his first vacation when he accompanies his human friend, Mr. McTosh, to Brooklyn, New York.